Looking at the most recent MLS TV ratings for the Becks debut, I realized that despite all the excuses that we might have, they just weren't as good as many had hoped. ESPN actually spent the time to get this thing rolling with continuous advertisements and air time on studio shows. Because of this, I can't help but wonder if the MLS TV ratings were to improve, will ESPN be willing to give the league more mainstream time (multiple games every week, daily spot on sportscenter, etc...)? My personal opinion is that ESPN seems to hold an inside track to the mainstream fan. If they say its great-many will believe. If this is true. What can we as MLS fans do to improve the flat .2 ratings average. Here's my ideas: 1)Watch the Thursday night games!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even if it is not the team that you support. DVR it if you need to. 2)Invite friends over to your house for a weekly Thursday game to introduce them to the game. Anyone else have some ideas.
no...a league doenst need a huge tv deal to be succesful or national love. but they have to get some large audience. for instance...lets say the MLS never gets big on ESPN or english tv. however its grows huge on spanish tv. lets say there are 20 teams...and mos tof them get good attendance and good local tv/radio/merchandise revenue. then the MLS would get big money from spanish tv, and from there own local teams..and be a success without ESPN....you wouldnt be on ESPN much.... but you would be a major sport..ask the NHL
mls does need a huge tv deal to be successful. you start by saying they don't, then go on to say they do, just not espn.
the nhl made 2.34 billion dollars last year. they get 70 mil from versus and basically nothing from NBC. where is there huge American tv deal? they sure dont need it to make a ton of money
i can why MLS had get the ESPN/abc deal its way better than what the NHL is getting from their tv deal for sure, i mean who watches Versus??...... i dont see why the MLS try something different and go after network like TBS or Tnt who are historically known for doing different things. also if a league the EPL stop underestimating to American sports cash power they should seek a major network deal with espn, or NBC or fox regular.
Sportsfan, as many games as I watch in Spanish, I can live with it. But I do prefer english speaking channels Trip, I start by saying that I'm disappointed with the ratings. My opinion is that MLS needs to get the ratings to go to another level.
Isnt Major league soccer a american(and canada) soccer league??? then it should cater to American audience. but they ride the wave of the latinos tv watcher
the point is. the nhl gets over 175 million from canada tv. and 700 million overall in revenue from the 6 canadien teams the mls could get 8 mil from espn and 150 from spanish speaking tv, and be big without mainstream america
A good point, but unfortunately the Spanish channel MLS coverage is not great either. All TV ratings need to improve.
yes but the espn/abc deal was only worth 120 million. the nhl gets 70 million from Versus and whatever is left from the revenue sharing from NBC...the reason the NHL gets so much from versus is because of the Demo...even though the ratings arent great...most of the watchers are in the main spending demo. the mls currently is up 50 percent in the main spending demo from last year on espn however....since the NHL lost the 120 million from ESPN/ABC..they have gained somehwere from 30 to 50 million in canada since the lockout. so its off-set well. the mls...really needs to realize they have a huge potential fan base in latin america..and market hard to latin tv goers...and if that works..put more teams in large latin areas.
My Bad Trip! Anyone with ideas on how to increase TV ratings. How can I get a box so that I'm a part of it?
You don't go to Neilsen, they come to you.. If they do, by chance, pick you, you'll first have to answer a lot of questions to see if you qualify such as "Do you work for any business related to television/film production, advertising, marketing, etc.. etc..?" ... They don't want people helping their own "interests" with the ratings..
yes....the fans have to get others involved..it has to start locally. get friends who dont like soccer to go... the teams need to get coporate to buy tickets..they need to hold Rallys and Parties. the fans need to call there local paper and radio..and demand more coverage. spread the word
MLS needs quality players playing in compelling situations. They quality of play has improved, and adding stars is only going to help; but watching these superliga games has opened my eyes to what the quality of play in MLS can/should be if the games meant a bit more. I know it's been said a million times over, but if the players aren't playing with total passion, the fans won't react with passion. I have watched every Thurs. night broadcast in HD and have enjoyed watching the streamed superliga matches so much more, because the players are playing with some sense of desparation. I don't think you get that in an average MLS game, and that comes through on television.
Yep. Well said. Reach out to your communities via all communications avenues and simply spread the word that MLS is great entertainment, live or on TV.
In one of the pre-Beckham debut stories, I saw a quote from an ESPN honcho who expressed some disappointment about MLS ratings not inching upward yet this year. I think ESPN will give the league time to grow -- it's still way too early to judge -- but eventually I think they will want to see some evidence that the audience is getting bigger. The other key is what sportsfan mentioned -- demographics. The total ratings of a program don't have to be high if the demos are good. It is very, very difficult to reach young adult men with advertising, for example, so if your audience includes a lot of 25-year-old males, you will have advertisers seek you out. My guess is that soccer has similar demographics to hockey, with of course a more Latino influence. So that should help.
If Hockey has such a good demographics how come it is losing viewers so much and revenue and had to go on strike? I don't follow that so this is a real question. All I hear about Hockey is how poorly its doing and how bad ratings are. Another major MAJOR difference between Hockey and soccer is that the soccer fan group (hispanic and otherwise) is growing quickly whereas Hockey fans are dwindling or staying the same.
ESPN lost interest in hockey because they paid a ridiculously high rights fee to air it -- thinking they could boost the numbers -- and they couldn't. One of the reasons ESPN failed -- and it's a trap that MLS needs to be careful of -- is that expanding the league's geographic footprint didn't help national ratings. In other words, just because you have teams in many major cities -- and those teams have fan bases -- doesn't mean that people in Tampa want to watch Detroit vs. Anaheim or what have you. In addition, hockey became somewhat unwatchable during the ESPN years due to rules interpretations, which didn't help. That's the double-edged sword of big television fees ... you have to deliver the audience. If MLS and ESPN can work together to ensure that neither is being gouged, they can have a long relationship and both can make money on soccer telecasts.
One other comparison ... hockey is a notoriously bad sport for the television viewer, especially the casual fan. It's just tough to see the puck. On the other hand, soccer is great for the viewer because it is easy to see the action and the build-up and such, but it's not so great for the network in terms of advertising time.